In general, the vivid flower hyacinth means fondness or devotion beyond death in general. That said, its different colors give it another meaning.
Red hyacinths mean playfulness and recreation, white hyacinths express charm and remembrance, purple expresses forgiveness and regret, and yellow suggests jealousy.
Now there’s more to the hyacinth flower than these. Find out where it got its name from, its traditional and new meanings, and more. We will tackle them in this guide.
How Hyacinths Got Their Name
The story of how hyacinths got their name is one of the most beautiful stories in Greek mythology.
It began with the competition of Apollo, the Greek God of the sun, healing, and the arts, and Zephyr, the God of the west wind and the spring, to win a beautiful young boy’s affection.
One day, Apollo was teaching this boy named Hyakinthos how to properly throw a discus. He’s become very fond of him, and Zephyr could see this.
So Zephyr became so jealous and mad that he sent a strong gust of wind toward Apollo. But this act of anger backfired, as the discus came back like a boomerang to strike and kill the boy.
Apollo, being terribly sad about what happened, found a striking flower growing at the spot where the boy had been killed. In honor of the innocent young boy, he named the flower hyacinth.
It, therefore, makes sense now that red hyacinths, as we said earlier, are a symbol of playfulness and recreation, referencing when Apollo was teaching the boy to play discus in his spare time.
Hyacinth in Hebrew
In Hebrew, hyacinth means precious blue or red gemstone. This particular gem called leshem (which translates to English as “jacinth”) was one of the stones worn by the High Priest of Israel on his armor.
Hyacinth Flowers in the Victorian and Modern Eras
In Victorian times, from the mid-19th to the early 20th century, hyacinths were planted to make houses, gardens, and public parks incredibly beautiful. Given their attractive colors and flower structure, people regarded hyacinths as a symbol of cheerfulness and playfulness.
What’s more, because it bloomed in early to middle spring, the flower signaled spring and warmer days ahead.
A century later, in the present time, hyacinths remain to be very popular flowers for various occasions and events.
Some use them for wedding bouquets and decor since they are believed to bring good luck. Some give their moms white and pink hyacinths on Mother’s Day, and others put these flowers on top of gravestones or burial grounds to pay respect to a person or honor their life.
